Mid-season Write-up, Season 7 Cup

We are six weeks into the seventh season of Heroes Lounge, and that means it is now time to take a look at the standings for teams undefeated and underperforming both, as well as everything in between. Today will be the Cup recap, with all scores mentioned here being snapshot as of midday on the day this is going up.

The division that brought forth the Cup winner in Season 6 has got yet another few interesting teams in its midst. The differences in skill level are as pronounced as they have ever been here; a small downside of the system, but that doesn’t mean any match is lost from the outset. Anything can happen: this is after all a 6.5/10 no comeback mechanics game.

Leading the pack, we see a bunch of unpronounceable cool dudes in the form of Sköna Lirare, the Earthworm Defence Force, and the Southgate Boiz all as of yet undefeated. Sköna Lirare has already played their fifth match, whereas the EDF will still need to deploy to save their score from any Southgate Boiz’ attack in Round 5. Danish team DDGG is also definitely in with a shout to grab one of the top spots: their only loss was the first round, leaving them on four wins out of five rounds.

It has to be said that Division 5 is not very friendly to some of the more august teams in its midst. On Ruby Wings,The Cult of Emperor Physicsman, and returning fan favourites Puppies in Shark Tanks; now under the CoB banner, are all flying very much under the radar of anyone checking the top of the division. This might be good if you’re a real life cult, but here in Heroes Lounge, winning only two of your first four to six matches is generally not going to get you into any spot to compete at the end of the season. Then again, that isn’t particularly needed to have fun and play the game as it is meant to be played, so all can still be fair.

As the lowest league, this is also generally the place where we see the most Free Agent Teams show up, and there are still several active. FAT Ogre and FAT Bugbear are doing pretty okay, garnering three wins out of five and four matches respectively, with their losses coming from encounters with one of the top four teams. Certainly a good start for teams that were created at the start of this season from nothing! FAT Owlbear and FAT Goblin have been less successful so far, but it does take time to mesh as a team. Underestimate them at your own peril!

The old and the new; the veterans and the rookies; this juxtaposition aptly describes Division 4, with a variety of return teams, promoted teams, and newcomers entirely duking it out here. They had a runner-up in the Cup last season; an improvement over Seasons 4 and 5. Can someone go all the way here?

One team whose name sounds outdated on account of meta changes, but whose strategies aren't, is Treehouse Gaming, who are currently sitting at the top of the table. Not undefeated; because the only undefeated team is the world serpent of Jormungandr itself, but starting with four wins in five matches, and taking a map in the one lost match, is very promising indeed. On Emerald Wings joins them in this same position, whereas From Scratch; who ended in an unenviable sixth place in last season, have also won four matches; albeit without taking a map in their loss.

Promoted team HotsTough is the last team to be at four wins; a very nice improvement for a team that was high in Division 5 last season, but they are not the only ones. Killer Koalas and Death by Monkeys have also been promoted since last season, and they are both sitting at three wins and seven maps so far: a good position to chase behind the pack in front and to snap at their heels, just waiting for a mistake to happen. The Sops also jumped up a division, sitting at three win as well, just with six maps. Last season, maps were crucially important in this division, so fighting for all that you have is very worth it.

For some strange reason, Division 4 has found themselves a minor theme: food. Cupcakes Anonymous certainly don’t need any help playing the game, as their twelve step program has so far left them with a respectable three wins from five rounds. Yoghurt only lost their first match last Sunday, also on three wins. Condiments aren’t doing so hot, though, as TEAM SALT is only on a 50 % score so far this season. Perhaps they need to spice their drafts up a bit, and Waffle Tier Warriors also could do with a new recipe in their kitchen at just one in four.

Division 3’s status as the forgotten middle child of the Lounge was cemented last season as the spotlight fell on their smaller brothers during the Cup. At some level, some feelings of revenge might be present, though for the most part, people here just do what they want to: play the game and occasionally hunt TinyOwls.

Three teams remain unbeaten, and two are top of the division: BrownHorseGang and RIP Convection. It is only a matter of time until they meet each other; probably next round. RIP Convection has only lost one map to BrownHorseGang’s two, but that difference is inconsequential, and their battle will decide a lot of how this division is going to shake out, as will both teams’ matchup with FAT Lieorpopöklpokdon, err… Leopleuroppadan, err… Liopleurodon: the third unbeaten team in the division. (Who came up with that name... It's a bother to write.) Will we see another FAT reach the Cup playoffs, as per FAT #11 back in season 5? We shall see.

Division 3 is where we find various illustrious promoted teams as well. LE GAG aren’t having the best of seasons so far, as mentioned in yesterday’s #RIGGED; at three wins, their season has been a far cry from the success story of yesterseason. Still a decent spot, but one that requires wins in order to stay the course for the Cup. Budgeville Bush Bashers are in a similar spot: four wins, two losses sees them fifth for now, but only because they’ve already played their round six match. Lastly, Team Washing Machine, who still owe me a combo - this will be mentioned any time I write about or cast them - are smack dab middle of the pack with two wins out of four.

If you’re a fan of murlocs, and anyone who has ever played World of Warcraft most certainly is, well, this is your division. For The Murlocs is sitting pretty in right around the cutoff for the Cup. Led by their royal couple, they have proceeded to slime all over four of their opponents so far. There hasn’t been a Murky pick, however, which is enough to make me want to go (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻. Luckily for me, there is a Team TableFlip in the division as well, sitting pretty just behind the leaders at four wins and nine maps.

As ever, standings change with every round; and even the most unimportant-seeming map win could end up being the difference between making it into the Cup and sitting out for several weeks. Join me again on Friday as I then take a look at the Championship standings so far.